Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF), an acidic heparin-binding growth factor, has been implicated in the progression of diverse human malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma (3, 4), pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer (5) gastric cancer (6–8), colorectal cancer (9–11), and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (12). The gene discussed is HDGF; the disease is gastrointestinal stromal tumor.